Soft skills considered more important than good grades

Teachers believe that schools should do more to help pupils develop communication and teamwork skills, new research shows.

According to a national survey of 1,000 teachers, 2,224 11 to 19-year-olds and 2,675 workers, conducted by the Prince’s Trust and HSBC, 31 per cent of teachers think it's more important to develop soft skills than get good grades.

Eighteen per cent stated that its more important to get good grades than develop these skills and 51 per cent felt they were both equally important.

In addition, the study shows that 91 per cent of teachers think schools need to be doing more to develop soft skills for pupils.

The Results for Life Report also found that 45 per cent of teachers felt that a lack of soft skills was one of the key factors to hold students back in life, in comparison to 32 per cent who felt the same about good grades.

Dame Martina Milburn, chief executive at The Prince’s Trust, commented: “While young people are painfully aware of the importance of getting good grades and under incredible pressure to achieve them, this report shows that the life and character skills considered key to success in their working lives are at risk of being overlooked.”